Previews

Tomb Raider: Underworld

Lara isn't the only one with new tricks. The engine that drives her games has also received a substantial overhaul, and the results are subtly revolutionary. Incorporating a new take on graphical technology, Crystal Dynamics has employed an effect called spherical harmonics that delivers a fairly staggering visual effect... if you're looking closely enough to appreciate it. Spherical harmonics bakes lighting information right into the environment itself, imbuing it with the ability to cast realistic reflected light onto nearby objects. It's long been known that objects nearby other more colorful objects will inherit a sort of splash-back color, but standard rendering techniques (particularly those used in videogames) have not quite been able to demonstrate this property of light without incredibly complicated calculations. With spherical harmonics, the overhead required to create the illusion of this reflected light is reduced by smuggling all that math into the game before it even starts running.

The result is that when Lara brushes past a verdant green fern, a bit of the color of the fern gets on Lara just as it would in the real world. As we just said, it's very subtle, so you'll be forgiven if you simply look at the game and think, "wow, those are some great graphics." Of course, that won't stop the twelve texture layers applied to make Lara look stunning from working obsessively to impress you.

The impact of Lara's presence in the world of Underworld goes beyond simply getting some local color splashed on her. As Lara plows through ancient temples and steamy jungles, the inevitable wake of debris she leaves behind her will persist long after she's finished smashing a statue or knocking over a boulder. This is partially designed to serve as a ready source for landmarks, enabling you to feel comfortable exploring the less linear levels of Underworld without worrying that you might lose your way. Its primary objective, however, is to give you instant yet lasting evidence of your impact on the world around you and deeper enmesh you in Lara's environment. Coupled with the other seemingly small details like spherical harmonics, we'd have to say that from what we've seen it appears to be working.

Monster Moto

In Tomb Raider: Underworld, Lara gets a motorcycle, but this time, she actually owns it and can take it with her wherever she goes. While Lindstrom and Pavey assured us that the motorcycle we saw wasn't necessarily the same one that would appear in the final game, we admired the chunky tires that reminded us of the Batmobile featured in "Batman Begins." Now, these sweet wheels don't come without a price: you'll have to pay for the luxury by using it to solve Underworld's more elaborate puzzles.

We wondered if all the freedom afforded by Lara's new skills created any difficulties when it was time to design individual levels and puzzles. Lindstrom was ready, however, and quickly answered, "The skill and challenge in Underworld is based on figuring out what you need to do. You need to make a plan. Where you start in an area sometimes depends on where you came from in the previous area and you're not bound to doing things in a particular order. I mean, there are still levels, you know, but it's considerably less linear than Legend."

After observing the improvements in Underworld firsthand, we can't wait to jump in and help Lara Croft explore the underworlds of the Earth's various cultures (beyond the Mayan temple we saw in our demo)... a last parcel of information Lindstrom furtively drops while glancing around to make sure the public relations gate keepers aren't listening. At this point, however, he could tell us that Lara's adventures would eventually take her to Mars and we'd just nod, pining to see what his team would come up with. Due out in Fall of 2008, Tomb Raider: Underworld seems exceptionally promising.